DATE Reflection #2 Tess

We are currently in the Latino literature section of my Multicultural Resources for Youth class, and one discussion topic that was generated made me think of something that could correlate with this class: the reluctance of those from certain backgrounds to use the libraries. More specifically, a question was posed by our instructor about how immigration laws may affect an undocumented person using the library or other information resources/institutions. The discussion churned out one very important open-ended question: how can we, as information professionals, use outreach to these communities as a means to foster interest?

As information professionals in the library system, it is a huge part of our job to serve the demographics of the communities that surround us. In the context of people who are reluctant to use libraries (either due to bad associations with institution-like entities or fear of negative consequences), there are two ways that I feel could help put them at some semblance of ease: 1) make sure they can see themselves in the staff and the collection, and 2) bring the library resources to them (via book mobiles, "in the field" programming, etc.). Ultimately, I feel that establishing a rapport with our patrons is vital to meeting goals of community engagement and providing a comfortable user experience. If we can create a more welcoming space, perhaps we can more easily demystify libraries for those who may have a hard time trusting organizational entities.

11/19/14 Casa Latina Workshop Tess Xochitl

I went to the workshop last week with Xochitl and Jen. I feel that Xochitl and Jen had a great plan for the event: plan for a larger number of attendees but be able to adapt to a smaller turnout. They had expected about 8-9 kids to come and we ended up having 4 kids and one parent in attendance. The age group, for the most part, was very young: one 8-year-old, one 18-month-old, one 9-month-old, and one 6-month-old. The workshop started out with a storytime and songs as Xochitl and Jen had planned. Also according to plan, we moved on to snacks and then craft time. However, since the age-group was so young and it was a very small group, craft time was altered.


The word "failure" was used in the list of possible reflection questions, but I wouldn't describe anything that happened at the workshop unaccording to plan as a failure. The things that became somewhat of an improv were just different and unplanned. The 8-year-old took part in the lovely crafts, while the three of us watched and entertained the babies. In my opinion, the whole thing was a success. Although it turned into somewhat of a babysitting session, it was still fun and worthwhile because the kids were still exposed to the stories and songs that Xochitl and Jen had selected despite there being some alterations of the plan. I guess the lesson learned from this workshop was that when we're practicing librarians holding programming sessions and storytime and such, we should be prepared for anything. We should either have a backup plan or be able to quickly adapt or change the existing plan.





Xochitl Rocha


Tess, you said: "The lesson learned from this workshop was that when we're practicing librarians holding programming sessions and storytime and such, we should be prepared for anything. We should either have a backup plan or be able to quickly adapt or change the existing plan" this is so true! I am learning this in my DFW as well. When working with children you really have to be willing to adapt and veto and alter your plan, flexibility is a key trait as a youth services librarian!

10/1/14 Reflection Tess

After our second class session, I had the concept of intersectionality on the brain. I suppose it was partially due to the reading and the small activity from that week, but it was also because of the Multicultural Resources for Youth class I'm taking this quarter. I feel that this concept has been a constant occurrence in a majority of the classes I have taken throughout my college career (mostly because my English lit classes all had a theoretical focus), which really just means I have had a lot of time to reflect on its importance.

There are a lot of pieces that come together to create the blob that is my identity, and each one has its own purpose. Sometimes this thing happens when you're away from your culture long enough: you start to see that you're forming different identities because you're spending so much time in a different world. At least that's kind of been the case with me since I've been away from the Rez a majority of the time for the past seven years. In one of his books (I believe it was "Reservation Blues"), Sherman Alexie said that being a Native person living in modern Western society is like trying to drift down a river with a foot in two different canoes. Granted that is rather cheesy, I feel that it's also a true statement. When a person has so many identities but they don't know how to fit them together, they may feel obligated or forced to sacrifice one identity for another. But this is where being able to understand the concept of intersectionality and being comfortable navigating identity is really handy. It's about finding a balance and knowing how to make all of the different parts work as one cohesive piece. Now that was about as cheesy a thing to say as Sherman Alexie's two canoes line, but no matter.